Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are - Softcover

Groeschel, Craig

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310333830 ISBN 13: 9780310333838

Publisher: Zondervan, 2014

Synopsis

Discover your true identity in Christ.

Many of us live for the approval of others. We let the world decide who we are, or we look to those around us to discover who we think we’d like to be. The problem is that living for what people think of you is the quickest way to forget what God thinks of you.

In Altar Ego, pastor and author of Winning the War in Your Mind Craig Groeschel will show you how to sacrifice your broken ideas of approval-based identity on the altar of God’s truth and become who you were meant to be in Christ.

You'll learn how to:

• Expose false labels and selfish motives.
• Live according to God's higher values with a deeper confidence in His calling.
• Trade in your broken ego and unleash your “altar” ego as a living sacrifice to Him.
• Understand how God continuously shapes you into His vision of you.

Once you know your true identity and are growing in Christ-like character, then you can behave accordingly with bold behavior, bold prayers, bold words, and bold obedience.

Altar Ego reveals who God says you are, and then calls you to live up to it. Rather than living a timid, halfhearted, shallow cultural Christianity, you'll boldly live in the confidence of the God who believes in you.

About this title

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of Life.Church, which created the free YouVersion Bible app and is one of the largest churches in the world. He has written nineteen books and hosts the top-ranking Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast. As a widely respected leader in the Church, Craig speaks frequently at leadership events and conferences worldwide. Craig and his wife, Amy, live in Oklahoma. Connect with Craig at www.craiggroeschel.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Altar Ego

becoming who God says you are

By Craig Groeschel

ZONDERVAN

Copyright © 2013 Craig Groeschel
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-310-33383-8

Contents

to the reader, 7, 
- PART ONE - Sacrificing Your False Self for Your Sacred Identity in Christ, 
1. overcoming the labels that bind you, 15, 
2. you are God's masterpiece, 31, 
3. you are an overcomer, 47, 
4. you are God's ambassador, 65, 
- PART TWO - Sacrificing Cultural relativity for eternal Values, 
5. living with patience, 83, 
6. living with integrity, 101, 
7. living with honor, 121, 
8. living with gratitude, 139, 
- PART THREE - Sacrificing Self-Justification for Passionate Obedience, 
9. bold behavior, 161, 
10. bold prayers, 177, 
11. bold words, 193, 
12. bold obedience, 209, 
final introduction, 227, 
acknowledgments, 233, 

CHAPTER 1

overcoming the labelsthat bind you

Don't rely too much on labels,for too often they are fables.

— Charles H. Spurgeon

It's no secret that I've always been financially conservative—at leastthat's the way I've described myself. Others haven't been as kind intheir descriptions of my careful spending habits. The refrain I've heardthe most often is "Craig the Tightwad," which I find a bit extreme. I'mjust more fiscally responsible than other people, I rationalize.

In my teens and college years, my financial selfishness didn'tstand out that much. None of us had a lot of money to spend, so savingwas pretty much out of the question. Sure, you might have beenable to spot signs of my selfishness. Letting a buddy drive so I didn'thave to pay for gas. Conveniently forgetting about a friend's birthdayand the requisite gift. In college, some guys actually spread rumorsthat I'd break up with a girl before Valentine's Day to avoid givingher a present! For the record, if I ever did such a lousy thing, it wasn'tmore than once or twice.

When I was a young adult with a real job that paid a real salary(real low, but real nonetheless), my selfish tendencies became moreobvious. When Amy and I married, my annual income was twelvethousand dollars a year. With the goal of becoming debt free, we heldback on giving expensive presents to our friends and families. In theearly years, our budget for Christmas was five dollars per person.When people made fun of us, we eventually caved and raised ourbudget to a liberal seven dollars per person. (Before you judge me,remember that seven dollars went a lot farther in 1991.)

The one habit that cemented my reputation, though, was recyclinggifts. Anyone with the gift of penny-pinching has recycled a giftor two in their prime. I admit that I excelled and elevated regifting toan art form. Not only did I not want my kids to open the cellophanewrapping off some presents to ensure we could give those to anotherchild as needed, but I regularly gave to others gift cards that I hadreceived. The granddaddy of them all was when I actually got caughtdoing it. Sure, everyone suspected my crime, but no one could everprove it, until the day I gave a Chili's gift card to Mike.

Mike was a painter who did some work on our home. BecauseMike did a great job and wasn't a Christian, I wanted to be a goodwitness by offering him a tip for his work. But not wanting to dropany extra cash, I rummaged through my desk until I found a gift cardto a Chili's restaurant. The little envelope it came in displayed theamount, and Mike seemed genuinely touched to receive a card with atwenty-five dollar balance. It was a win-win; Mike got rewarded andI didn't have to spend a cent.

The next night, Mike called me. "Craig!" he said. "Everyone saidyou're a tightwad, but this is ridiculous!" I could hear loud voices andthe clatter of plates and cutlery in the background.

Oh no. My mind raced. What did I do? How did he know?

"I'm at Chili's with a friend and just tried to use the gift cardyou gave me," Mike said, his words coming out so fast I could barelyunderstand him. "Our bill came to just over twenty bucks."

"Yes," I replied, as much of a question as a statement.

Mike didn't hold back as he unloaded on me. "The stupid giftcard you gave me only had $2.43 credit on it!"

I had regifted a mostly used card. I guess I earned my not-so-covetednickname, Craig the Tightwad.

READ THE LABELS

I'm not the only one to get saddled with identity baggage. You don'thave to think long and hard to name people who've been labeled.There is Attila ... the Hun. There is Conan ... the Barbarian. Billy... the Kid. Buffy ... the Vampire Slayer. And my childhood favorite,Winnie ... the Pooh. Right or wrong, people are known for what theydo. Tiger Woods was known for being the best golfer in the world.Unfortunately, because of his extracurricular activities, he has nowpicked up less favorable labels. Some people's names even becomesynonymous with their crimes or failures. No one wants to be a BenedictArnold or a Doubting Thomas.

I've owned up to the negative nickname I earned, and I'm going toask you to do the same. Even if you don't totally deserve what you'vebeen called, it's important to acknowledge your label instead of pretendingit doesn't exist or that it doesn't bother you. What's the labelfollowing your name?

Maybe you're Pam the People Pleaser, allowing others to walk allover you, rarely standing up for your rights or what you really want inlife. Because of your passive nature, you've been labeled a doormat ora pushover. You're always concerned with what people think, worryingyou've let them down, hurt their feelings, or disappointed them insome way. Perhaps people have labeled you as insecure, self-doubting,or apprehensive.

You might be more like Evan the Evasive, someone who postponesdecision-making, always trying to keep your options open.Commitments make you feel tied down. So people say you're unreliableor uncommitted.

Or perhaps you're always getting your feelings hurt and peopletiptoe around you because you're known to be overly sensitive.

Maybe you lose your cool more easily than most. You tend to saythe first thing that pops into your mind. People have labeled you asangry and bitter, a hothead.

Or perhaps you have so much on your mind that you occasionallyforget to return a call or a text. You often are late to meetings, if youmake it at all. And you've been labeled irresponsible.

It might be that you've been the center of a few too many parties.You've lived on the wild side and had more than your share of late-nightfun, and you've been labeled the party girl or the guy who isnothing more than a player.

Or maybe you don't feel like you excel at much of anything. You'renot the worst, but you certainly aren't the best. And for most of yourlife, you've been called average. Mediocre.

SECRET IDENTITY

No matter what you have or haven't done, God's power is big enoughto change you. There is no sin too great for God's grace. There is nohabit too big for his healing. There is no label too strong for his love.Let me say it again, because I want you to believe this: God's power isbigger than your past.

And his power is rooted in his love for you. He knows who youreally are no matter what others label you—or what you label yourself.What's true about you now doesn't have to be true about you later. Thegoal is not to reinvent yourself by striving to be some perfect personbut to allow God to do an extreme makeover by uncovering your trueself in his image, redeemed through Christ. Whatonce was, no longer has to be. God can and willbreak the labels that have held you hostage.

You were made for more than you've settledfor. You know your life does not reflect who youreally are deep down inside. You know there'smore, and you're tired of settling for less, butyou're just not sure how to move forward. It's time for you to learnwho you really are and what you're capable of doing across eternity.

So many competing messages vie for our attention, trying to tellus who we are and what we should do, where we should shop andhow we should vote, who we should cheer for and who we shouldcondemn. But if we've committed to follow Jesus and have acceptedthe ultimate gift card of salvation, which carries an infinite balanceover the charges of our sins, then there's only one source for knowingwho we are and how we should live.

Overcoming labels will likely mean a radical shake-up of who youthink you are. You may not even recognize yourself by the time youfinish this book! My hope is that you'll discover greater harmony andpeace in your life, a tighter alignment between your beliefs and yourbehavior. You will no longer be a collection of labels glued togetherby your acceptance of other people's perceptions of you. You will seethe truth about who you are and how to live in the freedom of whoyou were meant to be.

HELLO, MY NAME IS ...

When I became a Christian, I carried more labels than just Craig theTightwad. Some people knew me as the frat boy who was the centerof the party. Those on the outside of our party world often called mean arrogant jerk. The bottom line is, I felt like I had committed mostof the sins a person could commit. As I shared in my opening letterto you, my self-image was lower than the belly of a worm crawlingin the dirt. Not only did I dislike who I'd become; I outright hatedmyself.

That's why God's truth about who I am transformed my life andhope. Paul writes, "Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a newperson. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (2 Cor. 5:17 NLT,emphasis mine). No matter what others have said or what you'vebelieved about yourself, even if the negative labels are true, God cangive you a new view of you.

He will start by giving you a new name. All through the Scripturesare multiple examples of God giving new names to replaceold identities and to reflect new realities. Isaiah 62:2 says, "You willbe called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow"(emphasis mine).

Can you imagine: the Lord of the universe bestowing upon you anew name to replace an old and hurtful label? God gave Abram andSarai new names: Abraham and Sarah, meaning father and motherof many nations. Their new names pointed to God's promise of theblessings to come. God changed the name of Jacob, which meanttrickster or deceiver, to Israel, the name of God's beloved chosenones.

In the book of Judges, we read about a timid leader named Gideon.In our first impression, we see Gideon hiding in a winepress, afraid ofthe enemy, the Midianites. But when an angel of the Lord appears toGideon, the angel calls him a "mighty man of valor." Gideon, empoweredby God, grew into the true meaning of his name. God will dothe same for you, but you must be willing to let go of the old name togrow into the fullness of your true identity.

Like Gideon and Jacob, so often we cling to the safety of a familiar,false identity rather than extend ourselves to grasp who we reallyare. People tell us we're shy, so we never allow ourselves to take risksto meet new people and become more social; we retreat into the safetyof our refrain that "that's just who I am." Or they tell us we're funnyand always expect us to crack a joke or deliver a witty punchline,never challenging us to use the intellect behind that humor for somethingmore substantive.

I observed this phenomenon—and challenged it—when I firstmet my wife, Amy, more than twenty-two years ago, when she was asophomore in college. Besides her love for God, I was impressed withher quick wit and sharp mind. So imagine my shock when one dayAmy casually mentioned that she was just an average student. Averagestudent? I remember thinking, There is nothing average about thisgirl! So I argued with assurance that she wasn't average at all.

Amy didn't budge on her self-proclamation of mediocrity. She dismissedmy observation as the product of infatuation or flattery. WhenI tried to discern why she felt this way about herself, she explainedthat everyone—her parents, her teachers, her friends—always toldher she was a middle-of-the-road student. For as long as she couldremember, everyone agreed that she wasn't at the bottom of the classand never would find herself at the top. Her making mostly B's and ahandful of C's only confirmed the label.

After several months of getting to know Amy even better, I wasconvinced that she believed a lie. With a burden that I felt came fromGod, I sat Amy down, looked her in the eye, and told her as boldly asI could, "Just because everyone else says something, and even believesit, doesn't make it true. You are not average. God made you very, verybright."

Amy's eyes almost glazed over as she instinctively brushed meoff. Unfazed, I firmly but lovingly held both sides of her face and said,"Listen to me. I believe God wants you to hear this. Hear it as himspeaking, not me. God did not make you average. You have greatnessinside of you. It's time to act like it."

Her eyes teared and locked with mine. Something changed at thatmoment. I believe that instead of seeing herself as others saw her,Amy saw herself as God sees her. She started her next semester not asAmy the Average but with a new God-given name: Amy the Brilliant.If my story sounds a little cheesy or melodramatic, the results speakfor themselves. For the first time ever, Amy made a 4.0—all A's. Witha new, God-given self-image, she never made anything lower than anA for the rest of her college studies.

THE BIG REVEAL

It wasn't long after this experience with Amy that God gave me a newname as well—one that I felt inadequate to own. Shortly after joiningmy church staff at the tender age of twenty-two, I passed a lady in ouroffice. She smiled broadly and said, "Hi, Pastor Craig," and kept onwalking. Pastor Craig? Are you kidding me? I don't deserve to be called"Pastor" anything!

Uncomfortable with this title, I found my boss, Nick, and toldhim that I wasn't ready to be called Pastor yet. I didn't know enough.Wasn't good enough. And still had way too much to learn. PastorNick burst out laughing, put his hand on my shoulder in a fatherlymanner, and said, "Pastor Craig, I remember feeling just like you.Don't worry. You'll grow into your new name."

Those words helped change my life, and now the same is true ofyou. God is going to give you a new name; you may already know it.You might not feel worthy of that name or understand how it appliesto you. You may not feel deserving. Don't worry. God gave you thatnew name, and you will grow into it.

You might have done a lot of things wrong and you carry theguilt. Your new God-given name is Forgiven. Perhaps you've struggledwith an ongoing sin or don't like somethingabout yourself. Your new name isTransformed. You might live daily with ahurt from the past. You've been abused anddon't know if you can ever overcome it. Youhave a new name. Your name is Healed.

It could be that you know you need tostep it up and direct your family towardGod's perfect will. Even though you don't feel ready, God calls youSpiritual Leader. You might have battled overeating or underexercisingyour whole life. Accept the new name Physically Fit. If you've everfelt like a failure as a mom, seek the God of all and own it when hecalls you Great and Godly Mom.

When God gives you a new name, even if it feels like you can'tfulfill it, don't worry. By his Spirit and through his Son, you will growinto it.

LIVING ON PURPOSE

Not only will "the Lord bestow upon you a new name" but your newname carries a new purpose. Again, God's Word is rich with examples.My favorite is Simon the fisherman because I relate to his inconsistencies,blunders, and well-intentioned failures. Like most of us,Simon didn't have the credentials expected of a spiritual hero. Manywould have described him as unstable, unpredictable, and impulsive.But Jesus saw more in him than others saw.

And I can assure you that Jesus sees more in you as well.

Calling Simon to be his disciple, Jesus gave the fisherman a newname that carried a new purpose (see Matthew 16). After Jesus playsa round of spiritual Jeopardy! asking his followers who he really is,Peter lands the big money with the right answer. "You are the Messiah,the Son of the living God." In recognizing Jesus' true identity,Simon is stepping into a new name of his own. Jesus says, "Blessed areyou, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh andblood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter,and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades willnot overcome it" (Matt. 16:17–18, emphasis mine). He is no longerSimon, but Peter. He will no longer cast nets for fish, but now he will bea fisher of men. God will use him to win people into God's kingdom.

Now, if you know anything at all about Peter, even after Jesus'declaration, Peter didn't always live up to his new name. (Like us, hestill had to grow into it.) Numerous times Peter fell short of faithfulness.When the guards confronted Jesus near the Garden of Gethsemane,rather than responding as Jesus taught him, Peter resortedto violence and sliced off a soldier's ear. (I'm only guessing, but I'mpretty sure Peter was swinging for the head and missed.)

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Altar Ego by Craig Groeschel. Copyright © 2013 Craig Groeschel. Excerpted by permission of ZONDERVAN.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0310333830
• ISBN 13: 9780310333838
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240